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Structures and Composition of the Crab Carapace: An Archetypal Material in Biomimetic Mechanical Design

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Marine Organisms as Model Systems in Biology and Medicine

Part of the book series: Results and Problems in Cell Differentiation ((RESULTS,volume 65))

Abstract

The structures and composition of crab carapaces are of interest to biomimetic designers and materials scientists as they are hierarchically optimised to dissipate fracture energies through molecular to macroscopic length scales. At each length scale, mechanical energy is absorbed and redirected, circumventing thus catastrophic fracture through the carapace cross-section on impact. The objective of this section is to elucidate the structural, chemical and compositional makeup of crab carapaces, to provide links between their architectures and mechanical properties, and to discuss highlight papers where attempts have been made to mimic the structure-property characteristics of crab carapaces in modern engineering composites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Materials and Processes, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Parvez Alam

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  1. Parvez Alam
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Correspondence to Parvez Alam .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas, USA

    Malgorzata Kloc

  2. Institute of Genetics and Development of Rennes, Université de Rennes, Rennes, France

    Jacek Z. Kubiak

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Alam, P. (2018). Structures and Composition of the Crab Carapace: An Archetypal Material in Biomimetic Mechanical Design. In: Kloc, M., Kubiak, J. (eds) Marine Organisms as Model Systems in Biology and Medicine. Results and Problems in Cell Differentiation, vol 65. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92486-1_25

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